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Class JELk^j. 

Book ■ 1)1 b. 

Copyright N°. 

COHRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



LIFE AFTER 
DEATH 



BY 

T. EWING DUFFIELD 

Pastor of Presbyterian Church 
Cherry Tree, Pa. 




ALTOONA, PA. 
COMMERCIAL PRINTING COMPANY 
19 2 1 




Copyright, 1921 
By T. EWING BUFFIELD 



© CI A626002 
SEP 19 1921 



TO THE CONGREGATION 
OF THE 

PRESBYTESIAN CHURCH OF CHERRY TREE, PA. 
WHO HAVE EARNESTLY ENCOURAGED 
AND FAITHFULLY CO-OPERATED WITH ME 

IN MY LABORS IN THEIR MIDST 
THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY 
DEDICATED. 



INDEX 



Preface 4 

I. General Discussion 7 

II. Testimony of Reason... 

1. The Universality of the 

Belief 20 

2. The Longing of the Soul 

For Continued Life 25 

3. Imagination 28 

4. The Intellectual and Moral 

Fitness of Things 29 

5. Love That Follows 34 

6. Nature 36 

III. Testimony of Science 40 

IV. Testimony of the Bible..... 55 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

tiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiti 11 iim linn in mil in iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii 1 11111111111111111111 

PREFACE 
In presenting this little volume to the 
public, I wish to state that the usual 
arguments for immortality viewed from 
the standpoint of the present day have 
been used. It would be impossible to 
offer any new evidence on this subject, 
as the question has been thoroughly 
dealt with for centuries ; but the aver- 
age reader is not always familiar with 
the arguments used by those who have 
made a study of the subject, and who 
often present the arguments in the 
abstract. 

I believe that the public is intensely 
interested in this question, though it is 
not a question of common discussion. 

I have emphasized the importance of 
reason in developing our faith in a life 
after death; for no doctrine can be a 
proper object of our faith which .is not 
more reasonable to accept than to re- 
ject. If a doctrine can in no way be 
reconciled to right reason, it is sure 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

.IllllllllllllinillllllllllllllUIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIllllllllllllllf Hill 

evidence that its claims have no solid 
foundation, and ought to be rejected. 

I believe that it is clearly established 
in this volume that the belief in immor- 
tality is not, at least, contrary to right 
reason. 

In using the philosophical and scien- 
tific arguments, I have endeavored to 
present them in a popular form in order 
that those who have not made a critical 
study of the subject may easily com- 
prehend them. 

I have also used the New Testament 
testimony and endeavored to show its 
solid foundation; for men often ask if 
this testimony is a true record in the 
case. 

It is my earnest prayer that this little 
volume may serve to strengthen the 
faith of those who are harassed by 
doubts and to comfort many in times 
of sorrow and bereavement. 

May, 1921. Cherry Tree, Pa. 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



lilllllSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIilSIIItllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllltlllllllllllllltllllllf lllllll 



LIFE AFTER DEATH. 

"How poor, how rich, how abject, how august. 
How complicate, how wonderful, is man! 
How passing wonder He who made him such! 
Who centred in our make such strange 
extremes, 

From different natures marvelously mixed, 
Connection exquisite of distant worlds! 
Distinguished link in being's endless chain! 
Midway from nothing to Deity! 
A beam ethereal, sullied, and absorpt! 
Though sullied and dishonored, still divine! 
Dim miniature of greatness absolute! 
An heir of glory! a frail child of dust! 
Helpless immortal! insect infinite! 
A worm! a God!" 



Apostrophe of Edward Young. 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



mi mi nil niiiii 1 1 Minim in ii in mi in n 1 1 mi ii i: mi in in mi mm 1 1) i urn mm 1 1 in 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



"A well-grounded and steadfast belief in 
a life beyond the grave is one of the most 
precious of all the contributions which a 
man can make to the spiritual luealth of 
his generation." 

—Rev. Charles E. Jefferson y D. D. 

Wn\ E believe this declaration by Dr. 



Jefferson to be a fact and it 



p^yl shall be our aim in this treatise 
to endeavor to make such a contribu- 
tion. 

"If a man die shall he live again ?" 
This is a great question; an old ques- 
tion. It has been pondered by all gen- 
erations. It has been affirmed, denied, 
settled and unsettled, times without 
number, and still it persists in living 
and each succeeding generation ponders 
it anew. It is a question in which all 
men, with few exceptions, are intensely 




[ 7 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu 

interested ; for all know that they must 
soon meet the last enemy, that the Black 
Camel kneels at every gate, and that 
there is no discharge in this war. 

A recent writer has said that there 
is among men a modern feeling of 
nonchalance which speaks and acts as 
though it made but little difference 
whether or not they live beyond the 
grave; that they do not so much dis- 
believe in a future life but that they do 
not care; they say "One world at a 
time." This may be true of some men 
who have an abnormal twist in their 
mental machinery, but it cannot be true 
of the masses of men because it does 
violence to a universal intuition. The 
desire for continued life is innate. The 
subject of immortality is seldom dis- 
cussed in the public prints, and is not 
a common topic of discussion. We can- 
not judge what the hearts of men feel, 

[ 8 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■ ■II1I1I1II11IIIIII1IIMIIIIIIIII1HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 

even though they may speak and act as 
though they disbelieve in a future life. 
Some men think and act entirely differ- 
ently when they come to the borderland 
of death than they do in the days of 
health. It may be true that a small 
class while in health try to banish such 
thoughts from their minds; but the 
time comes when they can no longer 
banish them. 

"We need no reed," says Matthew 
Henry, "no pole or measuring line 
wherewith to take the dimensions of 
our days, nor any skill in arithmetic 
wherewith to compute their number. 
Nay, we have the standard of them at 
our finger's ends; it is but an hand- 
breadth for one and all." In the Bible 
we are constantly admonished of the 
brevity of our lives. "Few have the 
days of my life been," says Jacob, "and 
I have not attained unto the days of 



[ 9 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

.lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 

the years of my fathers/' 'The voice 
said, Cry. And he said, what shall I 
cry? All flesh is grass, and all the 
goodliness thereof is as the flower of 
the field/' "For what is your life?" 
says James; "It is even a vapor that 
appeareth for a little time and then 
vanisheth away/' 

Men know that they are constantly 
getting nearer the end and that they 
may be face to face with death any hour 
of their lives. Men cannot banish the 
thought of immortality by saying that 
it cannot be known and that all opinions 
and beliefs formed are of no value ; for 
the desire for continued existence is 
strong in normal man and hope is a 
beautiful white flower that grows in 
every human heart. There can be no 
doubt that the question uppermost in 
the minds of the great majority of men 
is, "If a man die shall he live again ?" 



[ 10 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iMiisiiriiiiJiiiisiiisiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuii 

The very thought of annihilation at 
death is abhorrent to the minds and 
hearts of most rational beings. "It is 
an intolerable thought/' said Darwin, 
"that man and all other sentient beings 
are doomed to complete annihilation 
after such long continued slow pro- 
gress/' Such a thought is unnatural 
because it does violence to a universal 
intuition. 

Some of England's greatest scientists, 
who were materialists, believing that 
death ends all, could not maintain this 
belief after their beloved sons fell vic- 
tims of death in the Great War, but 
found some sort of resting place in 
Spiritism. They now firmly believe in 
continued existence at death. It has 
been said that "All things serve; the 
good serve and are furthered; the bad 
serve and are consumed." So Spiritism 
with all its alleged absurdities and 

[ 11 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiimimiiniiiiimiimimiiiiiimmnB 

falsehood's, has served to make some 
men believe in immortality. 

However, there are some things which 
make it appear that death ends all. 
Immortality cannot be scientifically 
demonstrated and for this very reason 
some will not believe in it. Science 
deals with facts, and, in her search for 
immortality, she can find no facts — all 
she can find is an hypothesis or a postu- 
late; but on the other hand, if immor- 
tality cannot be proved it cannot be 
disproved. 

If we are to be governed by the ap- 
pearance of things, we shall rightly 
conclude that death ends all. Many 
things about our life suggest that death 
is the end. When we grow old our 
bodies become decrepit and are slowly 
dissolved; our sight and hearing fail; 
our limbs become weak and trembly; 
our steps become less certain; and our 



[ 12 3 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

ijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiii 

entire substance gradually wastes away. 
Well do we know the doom of the body : 
it decays and returns to dust ; and some- 
times we are disposed to conclude that 
the soul meets a similar fate ; for mem- 
ory becomes feeble and often fails en- 
tirely; judgment becomes unreliable; 
reason becomes dethroned and the entire 
mind seems to be suffering dissolution. 
We must remember, however, that ap- 
pearances are often deceiving and that 
if we were to restrict the sum of our 
knowledge to appearances only we would 
live in the grossest ignorance of the 
most important facts in the spiritual 
as well as in the physical realms. The 
sun appears to rise in the east and move 
toward the west, but we know that it 
does not. The earth appears to be 
nearly a flat plane, but we know that it 
is round. The earth does not appear 
to be moving over a thousand miles an 

[ 13 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiiiiiiiiiliaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiilliHlll 

hour, but we know that it is moving at 
this tremendous rate; at noon-day, the 
stars over our heads appear to be gone, 
fc t we know that they are still there. 
All progress in knowledge has been 
gained not by sight alone but by in- 
sight ; by looking under the outward 
appearance of things and finding verified 
realities. 

Also we cannot conceive of the soul 
and the body existing separately; the 
two seem to be so closely united and 
inter-dependent. It is a demonstrated 
fact that consciousness depends upon 
the functioning of the brain cells. 
Forms of conscious activity have their 
several fields in the brain; injure one 
of these sections of the brain and its 
form of activity is impaired ; injure the 
entire brain and conscious activity 
ceases. The seat of the mind is be- 
lieved to be in the gray matter of the 

[ 14 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
■■■^■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■"■■■■■■■■■■■■"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■> 

brain and we are told that certain cells 
must be developed there for each form 
of conscious activity. But the question 
arises: Do these cells produce the ac- 
tivity, or, are they played upon by the 
soul as a musician plays upon an instru- 
ment? If the brain, which is matter, 
produces thought and other activities 
in and of itself as if a violin would pro- 
duce music in and of itself, then destroy, 
the brain and all is gone. But it is only 
an assumption that the brain itself pro- 
duces these activities of consciousness 
and there is no evidence to warrant the 
assumption. It is far more reasonable 
to assume that the brain is the instru- 
ment and that the soul is the operator 
playing upon it as a musician upon his 
instrument; that there is a personality 
presiding over all these fields of con- 
scious activity, causing them to act in 

[ 15 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

niiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiniiifl 

harmony. If the brain, on being de- 
stroyed, ceases its activity, so will a 
musical instrument cease to operate if 
it is destroyed; but destroying the in- 
strument will not destroy the operator. 
These and many other things, when 
viewed casually or superficially, make 
it appear that death ends all. 

But although immortality does not 
lend itself to a scientific demonstration, 
there is, nevertheless, strong circum- 
stantial evidence in its favor. Is it not 
a fact that circumstantial evdence has 
much weight in our courts of justice? 
That many men have been convicted of 
the crime of murder upon purely cir- 
cumstantial evidence? 

If we consider this matter from a 
more philosophical point of view, we 
are forced to conclude that if death 
ends all there is no adequate, logical 



[ 16 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

IIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllIllllllllllllltllltllllllllllHIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIII 

reason for the existence of man. Man 
stands upon the highest pinnacle of the 
universe; around him are myriads of 
solar systems and worlds innumerable, 
and he is the only object in all this im- 
mensity of creation that can think and 
reason, love and hate; and in intelli- 
gence and wisdom he seems to be closely 
allied with the Creator ; in fact he seems 
to be thinking the very thoughts of the 
Creator after him, and to be seeing 
wisdom and design in all creation. 

Below man are the various forms of 
life and also the mineral kingdom. All 
these things below him have a purpose 
— an end. A reason is found for their 
existence. The mineral world furnishes 
the essentials for animal and for vege- 
table life ; the vegetable world maintains 
the animal world, each higher form of 
life subsisting on a lower form of life; 

[ 17 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

IIIIIIIIEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 

man himself subsisting on lower forms 
of life. All these lower forms of life 
exist for an end; but if death ends all 
to what purpose does man exist? 

If there be no future life, man is a 
pathetic failure and violence has been 
done to this law of existence; however, 
if this life is a state of preparation for 
a higher life, this law of existence con- 
tinues to work as do all other laws and 
is natural and reasonable just as other 
laws are natural and reasonable. 

Man is greater and more mysterious 
than any of the planets or systems 
which he studies. The greatest star is 
at the small end of the telescope. He 
is fearfully and wonderfully made and 
there are depths in his soul that have 
never been fathomed and there are 
dimly lying capabilities which it seems 
cannot be fully exercised in this w 7 orld. 

[ 18 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■iniiiiiiiifiiif iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiif miti iiiuiiinimiimi 

Now, we propose to call several wit- 
nesses and let them present what we 
consider is important evidence. We 
hope that this testimony will illuminate 
the path on our quest for truth. 



[ 19 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



tiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiaiiiiiiiiHiiii 



I. 

Testimony of Reason 

"It must be so, Plato, thou reasonest well, 
Else whence this pleasing hope? This fond 
desire? 

This longing after immortality? 
Or whence this secret dread and inward horror 
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the 
soul 

Back on herself and startles at destruction? 
'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us; 
And intimating eternity in man" 

The Universality of the Belief 
In Immortality 

This belief is found in the great ma- 
jority of human hearts of all nations 
and in all ages. It may be true that 
there are a few people who do not seem 
to have it, but the belief exists to such 
an extent that it may properly be called 



[ 20 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



a universal belief. This belief was part 
of the old religions which flourished 
before the time of authentic history. 
This idea, in various forms, entered 
into the composition of every system 
of religion. It existed also among the 
barbaric races for thousands of genera- 
tions. The Norseman had his Valhalla ; 
the American Indian his happy hunting 
ground; and the tribe or nomadic race 
is yet to be found in the Dark Continent 
that does not hold in some form to the 
principle of immortality. Max Muller 
said, "It is true, and I believe it has 
never been contested, that even the low- 
est savages now living possess words for 
body and soul. If we take the Tas- 
manians, a recently extinct race of sav- 
ages, we find that, however much dif- 
ferent observers may contradict each 
other as to their intellectual faculties 
and acquirements, they all agree that 



[ 21 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

.IIIII11II1IIIIIIIII1I1IIIIIMIIII1III1IIIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 

they have names for soul and souls; 
nay, that they all believe in the immor- 
tality of the soul." This primitive be- 
lief still exists and has a grip upon all 
classes of people. A grip that cannot 
be shaken off. It is essential to our 
development and is the greatest contri- 
bution to the moral and heroic forces 
of the world that has ever been be- 
stowed by fact, faith, or ideal. The 
belief exists; it has a right to exist. 

Here is an illustration used by the 
late Dr. David Gregg, that prince of 
preachers and Godly man, at whose feet 
the author was privileged to sit during 
his senior year in the Theological Sem- 
inary. It would be very painful and 
abhorrent to think that the great, kind 
soul of Dr. Gregg had passed into 
oblivion. He says, "What right has 
the little delicate flower to blossom 



[ 22 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

away up on the side of the Alps just 
on the border of the snow line ? It has 
the right that it asserts by its own 
existence. It belongs there. It could 
not be if it were not right for it to be. 
So this sweet white flower of hope, the 
hope of immortality, has grown in the 
human heart, and it rejoices us by its 
perfume and beauty. It is found every 
where in the universe. The universe 
never lies." 

Things which exist and persist in 
existing have a reason for their exist- 
ence. The human race is endowed with 
appetites, desires, and emotions; and 
these things exist for a purpose. One 
cannot imagine an appetite with noth- 
ing existing to satisfy it. The duck 
has a web foot made for the water ; the 
birds have wings made for the air. All 
the faculties of the mind of man exist 
for specific ends. Can it be that this 



[ 23 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
•iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

lively sense of immortality exists for 
no purpose? 

This argument is also used in the- 
ology as an evidence for the existence 
of God. The belief in God is also 
ubiquitous. It is innate in man. It is 
a constituent part of his being. It is 
argued that if there were no God the 
belief would not exist. 

Where did the savage get his con- 
ception of God ? The American Indian 
worshiped the Great Spirit. The Chris- 
tian calls him God and defines him as 
a Great Spirit. 

This innate belief in immortality has 
always been a great boon to man; it 
lifts him out of his sordid self, makes 
life worth living, gives him a sweet hope, 
high purposes, and noble aspirations. 

The arguments which reason produces 
from the ubiquity of the belief are very 



[ 24 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

strong and would be an inspiration even 
if there were no other arguments, but 
happily there are many others and 
some of them even more puissant. 

The Longing of the Soul for 
Continued Life 

"Whence this pleasing hope? This 
fond desire? This longing after im- 
mortality ?" 

Among normal men this longing is 
also ubiquitous, or nearly so. It is a 
hunger, a craving of the soul. Philos- 
ophy points us to the instinct for im- 
mortality and also the longing for it, 
and we instinctively ask if this longing 
and desire may not indicate our fitness 
for it. If the heart keeps longing and 
hungering for a future life, it is very 
evident that there is something out 
there to satisfy our yearning. 



[ 25 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■iiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiif iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiifiiiiil 

To the normal man this thought is 
unspeakably comforting. He delights 
to dwell upon it; but the very sugges- 
tion of extinction causes him to shudder 
and grow sick at heart. 

When a man stands with a breaking 
heart by the open grave of a dear friend, 
his heart revolts against the soul's 
oblivion. The hearts of those who lost 
dear friends in the Great War cannot 
give them up to oblivion. With them, 
it is not merely a question of belief but 
of feeling and longing. Their hearts 
leap clear ahead of their intellects and 
they say, "We know that we shall meet 
our friends again; we need no proof of 
that." The bereaved soul naturally 
turns toward a life beyond and it does 
so according to its nature; the bird 
sings and warbles because of its nature ; 
it cannot refrain from singing. If it is 

[ 26 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

•i in in in i nun mill! iiiiuiiiii iiiiniiiiiiii i mini i milium mini i iiiimiu mint: 

natural for the soul to turn in its sad 
hours of bereavement toward another 
life it is very reasonable that there is 
such a life. 

In closing this testimony, we shall 
use one more illustration from Dr. 
David Gregg. He says, "There is some- 
thing out in the future that draws the 
soul to it and for this something the 
soul yearns. The soul's yearning 
proves the reality of yonder something. 
Astronomers tell us that the great 
planet that moves on the uppermost 
circle of our system was discovered be- 
cause the planet next to it wavered in 
its course in a fashion that was inex- 
plicable, unless some unknown mass was 
attracting it from across millions of 
miles of darkling space. The telescope 
was directed toward yonder point, and 

[ 27 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

nnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiii 

true enough, a new and great world 
came into sight. There is something 
drawing us out toward the future and 
creating in us a perceptible feeling; 
that something, reason says, is immor- 
tality." 

Imagination 

Man is also endowed with the faculty 
of imagination. This faculty cannot be 
confined to his present environment. 
The imagination is not satisfied with 
this world, but soars to higher scenes 
and pictures them in glowing colors. 
It sweeps through the gates of death 
and paints pictures of what lies beyond. 
It pictures to us our loved ones on the 
other side and gives us beautiful 
thoughts of immortality, high ideals, 
and noble purposes. It enlarges and 
beautifies our sense of immortality and 



[ 28 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■biiiiiiiiiiiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiim 

enables us, in a sense, even now, to 
dwell with our dear ones whom we have 
lost awhile. 

The Intellectual and Moral Fitness 
of Things 

The normal man has a high sense of 
the fitness of things. Man is not fully 
developed. There are vast capabilities 
of the mind that have not yet been 
developed. Some of them may be de- 
veloped and utilized in future genera- 
tions; but what a loss if these powers 
were all destroyed at death! Nature 
abhors the very thought of destruction 
and is never a loser; she utilizes every 
leaf and twig. No loss in nature. 

The intellect is never redundant. 
The more a person knows the less he 
thinks he knows. The mind is as much 
more worthful than the body as the sun 



[ 29 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllHIIIMIIIIIIIIII 

is more worthful than the mote sailing 
in its beam. To Goethe was given one 
of the greatest intellects the world has 
ever known. All his life he had been 
trying to satisfy his thirst for knowl- 
edge ; but at the age of eighty-three he 
died, seated in his favorite arm chair 
and with his failing eyes directed toward 
the window, through which streamed 
the rays of the noon-day sun, faintly 
praying, "More light, more light!" 
Man never measures up to his aspira- 
tions in this world. His mind here is 
never fully satisfied or developed. He 
must have another world in which to 
complete its development and satisfy 
its cravings. Goethe must have another 
world in which to quench his thirst 
for knowledge. 

Victor Hugo's great soul found utter- 
ance in his later years for these 
thoughts when he said, "I feel in myself 



[ 30 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiii 

the future life. I am like a forest once 
cut down; the new shoots are stronger 
and livelier than ever. 1 am rising, I 
know, toward the sky. The sunshine 
is on my head. The earth gives me its 
generous sap, but heaven lights me with 
the reflection of unknown worlds. 

You say the soul is nothing but 
the resultant of the bodily powers. 
Why, then, is my soul more luminous 
when my bodily powers begin to fail? 
Winter is on my head, but eternal 
spring is in my heart. I breathe at 
this hour the fragrance of the lilacs, 
the violets and the roses, as at twenty 
years. The nearer I approach the end 
the plainer I hear around me the im- 
mortal symphonies of the worlds which 
invite me. It is marvelous yet simple. 
It is a fairy tale, and it is history. For 
half a century I have been writing my 
thoughts in prose and in verse ; history, 



[ 31 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiin 

philosophy, drama, romance, tradition, 
satire, ode, and song; I have tried all. 
But I feel I have not said the thousandth 
part of what is in me. When I go down 
to the grave I can say like many others, 
'I have finished my day's work/ But 
I cannot say, 'I have finished my life/ 
My day's work will begin again the next 
morning. The tomb is not a blind alley ; 
it is a thoroughfare. It closes on the 
twilight, it opens on the dawn." 

It is repugnant to reason to hold that 
a wise Creator would create and develop 
man's intellect to its present high state 
with all its latent capabilities, many of 
which have no sphere here in which to 
function, and then plunge that intellect 
into nihility. The fool hath said in his 
heart there is no God and the fool hath 
also said in his heart there is no im- 
mortality. Man would be most miser- 



[ 32 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

able without this fragrant white flower 
of hope in a future life. 

There is also a moral fitness of things 
that appeals to man. He has a sense 
of justice and that justice will be done. 
The world is not complete. Many ras- 
cals and villians escape justice in this 
world. Many errors and wrongs are 
never righted here. It seems that, 
"Truth is forever on the scaffold and 
Wrong forever on the throne." A man 
who has accumulated wealth by oppres- 
sion and robbery of the poor, of the 
orphans and the widows, lives in splen- 
dor and fares sumptuously every day; 
he dies without retribution. His con- 
science may never have given him one 
pang of remorse. Here is a rich man 
with an art studio in one of our large 
cities. His avocation is to lure inno- 
cent young girls into his studio and lead 
them on to ruin until their feet touch 



[ 33 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



on hell. One day there is a crack of a 

pistol and in the twinkling of an eye 
the life of that man is snuffed out. In 
his death there is no suffering. Are 
things to end that way? Will any one 
dare to say that such a man will go un- 
punished ? Nature always punishes for 
violations of her laws. Does not the 
Great Supreme Being have a sense of 
justice? This world is a complete fail- 
ure, unless there is a future life to right 
these wrongs. Reason says there is 
such a world. 



Love That Follows 

"Yet love will dream and Faith will trust 
(Since he who knows our need is just) 
That somehow, somewhere, meet we must. 
Alas for him who never sees 
The stars shine through the cypress trees! 
Who hopeless lays his dead away, 
Nor looks to see the breaking day 
Across the mournful marbles play! 



[ 34 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Who hath not learned in hours of faith, 
The truth to flesh and sense unknown, 
That life is ever lord of Death, 
And love can never lose its own." 

— Wh: titer. 



The nature of love suggests a future 
life. Love though undefinable is none 
the less a mighty power. Love will not 
cease from following after the loved 
one; Death is no barrier to it. The 
mother sees the body of her darling 
child laid in the grave, but the tender 
mother love will cross the chasm and 
dwell with her child on the other side. 
Love is as reliable as any other faculty 
of the soul. What the reason is to the 
intellect, love is to the heart; one is as 
reliable as the other. True love can- 
not believe that death ends all. As 
some one has said, "Love will not per- 
mit one to be a Sadducee at the open 
grave of one's dearest friend/' 



[ 35 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Nature 

In nature there are many things 
which seem to die but have continued 
life. Nature proclaims a resurrection. 
What is night but the death of the day? 
And morning but the day's resurrec- 
tion? What is winter but the year 
putting on her shroud and remaining 
under the embrace of death until 
Spring, with her dewy fingers and 
warm zephyrs, returns to resurrect her? 

The changes which take place all 
around us are very suggestive of a res- 
urrection of the dead. The leafless 
tree of winter will be clothed anew with 
leaves, flowers, and fruit when spring 
returns; the unsightly apparently life- 
less worm in its cell will soon change 
into a beautiful butterfly brilliant with 
colors. The power of the resurrection 
is exemplified in a worm. Shall man, 



[ 36 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

IlIlllllllJIlIllIlllllIlIllIlllIIlllllIllllllIlIllllllIlIIlIlIllllIIIIIlIlllllIIllIllIllllllIII 

so fearfully and wonderfully made, have 
the spirit cast out forever? 

There are well nigh one hundred 
thousand different plants with their 
billions and billions of seeds ; and each 
seed that is placed in the ground is not 
quickened except it die. Each seed has 
its own body Which houses the germ of 
life. Protect the body of the seed for 
thousands of years and under natural 
conditions life will be resurrected. Each 
seed proclaims a resurrection. If nature 
protects these lower forms of life from 
destruction, is it not reasonable that 
the very highest and grandest form of 
life shall be continued also? 

"The insentient seed, 
Buried beneath the earth, 
Starts from its dusty bed, 
Responsive to the voice of Spring 
And covers mead and mountain, 
Filds and forests, with its life. 



[ 37 ] 



LIFE AFTEE DEATH 

IIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIllllllllllllllllIllllllllllllllllltlllllllllllllllHH 

Myriads of creatures, too, that lay 

As dead as dust on every inch of ground, 

Touched by the vernal ray, 

Spring from their little graves, and sport 

On beauteous wings in fields of sunnied air. 

Shall this be so ? Shall plants and worms 

Come forth to life again ? And O, shall man 

Descend into the grave to rise no more? 

Shall he, the master of the world, 

Image and offspring of the fontal life, 

Through endless ages sleep in dust?" 

Nature suggests a resurrection of 
our bodies. Particles of our dust may 
be scattered to the four winds and may 
be caught up by vegetable life, but if 
it is necessary the Great Creator, who 
called the universe into existence, is 
surely able to reassemble the particles 
wherever they may be scattered. 

It is said that Faraday, the great 
chemist, on entering his shop one day, 
discovered that one of his assistants 
had accidentally let fall a silver cup into 



[ 38 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii 

a jar of strong acid. The cup soon dis- 
solved in the acid and the young work- 
man was at a loss to know what had 
become of the cup. He thought it had 
gone out of existence. The great 
chemist threw some chemicals into the 
acid containing the cup in solution and 
immediately every particle of the silver 
was precipitated to the bottom ; he then 
drained off the acid and sent the par- 
ticles to a silversmith who recast it into 
a beautiful cup. If a man can do this, 
cannot the Creator reassemble the fine 
particles of the body though they be 
scattered over all the earth? 



[ 39 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



IllillllllllJlIIIlllIlIllllIlllIIlIIIIIIIIIIIIlIllllIIIIIlIlllIllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 



II. 

Testimony of Science 

When the voice of true science is 
heard, all other voices are silent; for, 
in her sphere, she speaks with author- 
ity. The word "science" is derived from 
a Latin word meaning "to know"; and 
science deals only with facts. If true 
science says that there is or there is 
not a future life, the question is forever 
settled. We do not mean that if a 
scientist answers in the affirmative or 
in the negative that the question is 
settled; for there are scientists and 
scientists. 

Now, what has science to testify? 
Well, the geologist w r ith his hammer 
examines the rocks; the chemist, with 
his crucible and his scales, looks into 
the composition of things, and they 

[ 40 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

miiixiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

both testify that they can find no future 
life. It is true that a few scientists 
say that there is no life beyond, but 
they cannot prove what they say and 
they do not speak for true science ; they 
speak for themselves. 

Then, if science can neither affirm 
or deny the question, why do we go to 
her for testimony? For several reasons 
There are people who assume that 
science has said that death ends all; 
the basis for their assumption being 
what some so-called scientist has said. 

Science teaches many things which 
have an incidental bearing on the ques- 
tion, and these teachings are all favor- 
able to a belief in immortality, and have 
a strong tendency to strengthen our 
faith in it. 

Science affirms that matter and en- 
ergy are indestructible — only their 

[ 41 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■laiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiii 

forms may be changed. Now, if all 
energy with which the scientist deals 
is indestructible, it is highly probable 
that the vital forces of energy in the 
soul are also indestructible. 

Science has also given us the doctrine 
of evolution and the doctrine of the 
survival of the fittest. 

Assuming that the doctrine of evolu- 
tion is true, it is favorable to the belief 
in immortality ; but evolution cannot be 
proved. There is no doubt that species 
have been developing for ages, but there 
is not one scintilla of evidence to sup- 
port the contention that one species 
ever developed into a higher species. 
The missing link has never been found. 
In fact, the links are all missing. But 
the law of the development of species 
teaches us that the human race has 
been toiling up a hard and arduous road 



[ 42 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! 

through thousands of centuries, and 
that it has not yet reached the top of 
the ladder. What is the object in this 
slow and toilsome climbing? 

Science also teaches that the earth 
cannot endure; that the sun with all 
the planets will sometime grow too 
cold to sustain life, unless, indeed, some 
great world plunges into the sun and 
thus gives it renewed life. What then 
could possibly be the object in a 
beneficent Creator developing the race 
to such a high degree and then plung- 
ing it into nothingness? If this devel- 
opment is to be carried over into a 
future life, then no violence is done to 
this law and reason is satisfied. 

A beneficent Creator would not mere- 
ly for his own temporary amusement 
build up such a mammoth superstruc- 
ture as is the human soul only to plunge 

[ 43 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiuiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiium) 

it into everlasting destruction when it 
had evidenced its superlative beauty 
and an approach to perfection. 

There can be no doubt as to the 
soundness of the doctrine of the sur- 
vival of the fittest and that it holds 
good also in the higher fields of the 
mind. The ubiquity of the belief in a 
future life has survived all other beliefs 
and superstitions that grew, flourished, 
and died in the past. This precious 
belief in immortality, like some tall 
tower defying the tooth of time and 
the rasure of oblivion, has continued to 
exist, and it stands to-day stronger 
and more majestic than ever amid the 
debris of thousands of false beliefs, 
doctrines, theories, and superstitions. 

As we have previously said in this 
discussion some scientists contend that 
the brain has the power within itself 



[ 44 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

to produce the product known as con- 
sciousness — that oxygen and carbon 
burning in the gray matter produce the 
flame — thought ; that a bit of gray 
matter has the power to originate an 
emotion or an idea ; that mind is a pro- 
duct of matter, of organic development, 
and, when the body perishes, conscious- 
ness is extinguished. This is virtually 
saying that dull, inert, and dead matter 
is greater than the scientist. Does it 
satisfy our judgment to conclude that 
this dead matter produced such minds 
as those of Goethe and Gladstone? 
That matter has intelligence and creates 
and destroys? 

Man can take matter containing the 
same elements as that of the brain, 
break it up, change its form, pulverize 
it, divide it into its component parts, 
and reach conclusions concerning it; 
but does it satisfy his best judgment 



[ 45 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

IIIIMIIllll llil llllll II Mil II I II llll I illl llll I II II III ill 9 1 III t IIMMillllllilllitlllillllltlll 

to declare that this dull, dead matter 
has produced his intelligence? Is it 
not preposterous for him to conclude 
that so feeble a cause as matter could 
have produced such a divine creature 
as man? The mind is absolutely un- 
able to believe itself the product of 
matter and that it will perish in the 
collapse of the body. 

There are a few scientists, and some 
of them are among the most able ones, 
who declare that they have satisfying 
proof that the gulf has been bridged 
and that they have communicated with 
their friends on the other side. Great 
scientists such as Sir Oliver Lodge, 
Professor William James, Professor 
Herman Lotze, and Professor Barrett, 
all consider the belief in immortality 
reasonable and they are no mean judges. 
Nearly a score of years ago Sir Oliver 
Lodge gave the following testimony, 



[ 46 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 



and he makes it much stronger to-day 
since he claims to have unmistakable 
proof that he has held communication 
with his deceased son many times, "If 
any one cares to hear what sort of con- 
viction has been born in upon my mind, 
as a scientific man, by twenty years' 
familiarity with these questions which 
concern us, I am willing to reply as 
frankly as I can. I am for all personal 
purposes convinced of the persistence 
of human existence beyond bodily death, 
and, though I am unable to justify that 
belief in full and complete manner, .yet 
it is a belief which has been produced 
by scientific evidence that is based upon 
facts and experience." We are not en- 
deavoring to produce an argument for 
the reality of Spiritism, but merely to 
remind the reader that the judgment 
of these eminent scientists is worth 
noting. By most thinkers these experi- 



[ 47 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

.1IIII1IIIII1III1IIIIIIIIIII1IIIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIII1IIIIIIIIIII1IIIIIIIIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUW 

ences are ascribed to psychical causes, 
to fraud, or to evil spirits. If they are 
evil spirits, then there is evidently an- 
other world, as evil spirits must be 
spirits of evil men and have a habetat. 
If these great scientists are mistaken, 
then it is probaible that other scientists 
who deny immortality are also mis- 
taken. But who can say that these 
men have not communicated with the 
spirits of their departed friends? Ac- 
cording to many orthodox Biblical in- 
terpreters, the woman of Endor actually 
produced the Prophet Samuel, who in- 
formed Saul of approaching doom. 

One of the greatest scientific inven- 
tors is at present at work on a very 
sensitive, electrical apparatus designed 
to communicate with spirits in another 
world. 

Though we may not have any faith 
in the success of such an apparatus, 

[ 48 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
■^■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■•■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

yet, such an attempt indicates that this 
eminent scientist has a lively sense of 
immortality. 

In closing this testimony we shall 
quote the account of an ^experience by 
Dr. Russell H. Conwell, who for many 
years has been pastor of the Baptist 
Temple in Philadelphia, Pa., the largest 
Protestant church in America, at a sal- 
ary of $10,000 a year. He has deliv- 
ered about 10,000 lectures, having de- 
livered his most famous lecture, "Acres 
of Diamonds," nearly 6,000 times in 
every state of the Union and in many 
parts of the Old World. 

In relating this incident, Dr. Conwell 
says, "There is so much loose thinking 
and talking on the subject of our rela- 
tions with the other world, so much 
spiritualistic rubbish, one hesitates lest 
he be misunderstood. And yet I speak 

* We quote this incident for what it is worth, not 

attempting to prove anything by it. 

[ 49 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

II tlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllf iillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 

only what I myself have seen. I do not 
presume to draw conclusions." 

Continuing Dr. Conwell says, 

"Some years ago I had a dream that 
recurred every morning just before I 
awoke. It seemed to me that the figure 
of Mrs. Conwell appeared each morning 
and sat smiling at the foot of my bed. 
I said nothing about it to anyone; it 
must be, I thought, a delusion of age. 
Yet the figure was as real as life, smil- 
ing, and asking questions and answer- 
ing my own. 

"One morning I said, or seemed to 
myself to say, 'I know you aren't really 
there/ 

" 'Oh, but I am !' she replied. 

" 'But how can I be sure ?' I persisted. 
'Are you willing that I should test you V 
"She nodded, still smiling. 

" 'All right,' I said. 'Tomorrow I 



[ 50 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

U»MI1I*III1IIIIIIIIIIIIIII1JI1III1III1III1IIIIIIIIIIIIII1II1IMIIIIIIIIIII1IIII1IIIIII1IIIIII 

will ask you a question. Will you be 
ready for it?" 

"She nodded again, and with another 
smile disappeared. The next morning 
she was there again. 

" '1 see you have come/ I said. 'Are 
you still willing?' 

"She smiled and nodded, seeming to 
enjoy it all immensely. 

" Tell me then, where is my army 
discharge paper?' I had not seen it for 
years, and to the best of my knowledge 
was utterly ignorant of its whereabouts. 

"In a voice that seemed as distinct as 
though she had uttered the words aloud, 
she answered, 'Why, it is in the black 
japanned box behind the books in your 
library/ 

"I got out of bed and went into the 
library. There, after some search, I 
found the box, hidden away behind a 



[ 51 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimi 

row of books; and in it, under a varied 
collection of documents was the dis- 
charge paper. 

"Again the next morning she ap- 
peared, with a little smile of triumph, 
as if to say, 'You see it was there, just 
as I told you; now will you believe?' 
But I was not satisfied, of course. I 
asked her if I might make another test, 
and with the same happy smile, as 
though the game entertained her 
greatly, she promised again. 

"That morning at breakfast I spoke 
to one of the maids, who had lived with 
us for fourteen years. 

" 'Mary, you remember the gold foun- 
tain pen that Mrs. Conwell gave me 
years ago. I want you to take it off my 
desk to-day and hide it. And you are 
not to tell me or anyone else where you 
hide it. Do you understand V 



[ 52 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

lliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiii 

"Again the next morning the figure 
appeared, and we seemed to joke about 
it all for a little while. Finally I said : 

" 'Do you know where Mary hid my 
pen?' 

" 'Of course I do/ 

" 'Can you tell me the place 7 

" 'Get out of bed and come with me/ 
she answered laughingly. 

"I rose, and seeming to hold her hand 
was led to one of the closets in my room. 
The top shelf of the closet had been 
built into a little closet with a door 
which covered only a part of the closet 
front. She motioned me to it, and I 
took a chair and climbed up. I ran my 
hand over the shelf this way, and that, 
but without encountering the pen. I 
felt then that the whole thing must 
have been a delusion, and turned to 
step down from the chair. 



[ 53 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiniiiiiiiiiMiiii tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

"But she was still in the doorway and 
pointed again to the shelf, shaking her 
head emphatically, as if to say, 'It is 
there! Look again; you will find it/ 

"I did look again. I stretched my 
hand far in behind the door on either 
side, and this time, to my amazement, 
I found the pen. 

"I told that simple incident some 
weeks later in private conversation to 
a friend. He told it to another friend. 
And so, somewhat to my embarrass- 
ment, it came back to me one morning 
on the front page of the morning news- 
paper. Since it has been published 
once, I feel no reticence in repeating 
it ... . only a certain reluctance lest some 
readers should force into it an interpre- 
tation which I myself do not pretend 
to give." 



[ 54 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

uiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii mill mill iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinii 
III. 

Testimony of the Bible 

We have considered the testimony of 
a number of witnesses and consider it 
strong as far as it goes ; but not one of 
them has any positive proof to offer. 
The best they can give us are hints, 
suggestions, speculations, and experi- 
ences that cannot be verified. We shall 
now produce a witness that speaks with 
authority and affirms that there is life 
after death. This witness purports to 
testify to facts that have stood the acid 
test of centuries. The credibility of 
this witness has been attacked by some 
of the greatest scholars in the world 
but not one of them has ever succeeded 
iji invalidating the testimony. 

Great efforts have been made to dis- 
prove the genuineness and authenticity 



[ 55 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

of the Bible; men of great genius, pro- 
found scholarship, and untiring activity, 
have exerted all their powers to pull it 
to pieces; but in spite of all the efforts 
of these destructive critics, the Book 
stands to-day stronger than ever. There 
are more copies of the Bible made and 
sold to-day than ever before. Someone 
has said that its leaves flutter from the 
printing presses of the world like leaves 
from the Tree of Life for the healing 
of the nations. 

There is absolutely no doubt but that 
the Bible teaches the immortality of the 
soul. If it does not expressly declare 
it, everywhere it implies it. In the Old 
Testament, the belief is dim and shad- 
owy; but in the New Testament, the 
doctrine stands out in bold relief. The 
Man of Galilee swept the mists away 
and brought life and immortality to 
light. 



[ 56 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

mHiiiitiiiiiiiiiininiiiuiuiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

The genuineness and authenticity of 
the New Testament are well established. 
We arrive at a belief in the New Testa- 
ment in the same way in which we 
arrive at a belief in any other historical 
book — by the testimony of competent 
witnesses. 

The Rev. Hugh Thompson Kerr, D. D., 
pastor of the Shadyside Presbyterian 
Church, Pittsburgh, Pa., said in a recent 
sermon, "Death is life's highest and 
noblest adventure. One of the legacies 
of the war is a stronger and steadier 
faith in immortality. We believe in the 
life after death, because, in the first 
place, modern science says that we may. 
In the second place, philosophy says 
that there ought to be a life after death. 
If this is an honest world, there ought 
to be some true realization of life's pur- 
poses. If science says that there may 
be a life after death and philosophy as- 



[ 57 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

11111:11 111111 111 limit mini 1111 iimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

serts that there ought to be, Chris- 
tianity proclaims and establishes the 
fact that there is a life after death." 

No historical event is better estab- 
lished than the New Testament account 
of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
This is the Citadel of the Christian re- 
ligion. What a great amount of time 
and energy is lost by the destructive 
critics in attacking other points of the 
New Testament. Here is the Citadel; 
let it be destroyed, and all is lost. The 
whole Bible and the whole superstruc- 
ture of the Christian religion falls if it 
can be proven that Jesus did not rise 
from the dead. If the resurrection is 
a fact, then the Atonement, the Virgin 
Birth, and all the miracles are believe- 
able. 

The record gives us the testimony of 
men who were in close touch with Jesus 
and his friends before and after he rose 



[ 58 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

iiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiisiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu 

from the dead. The strongest of all 
the testimony is that of the Apostle 
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinth- 
ians. This letter was written before 
the four Gospels, and, is the oldest ex- 
tant account of the resurrection. The 
destructive critics have carefully inves- 
tigated all of Paul's Epistles and have 
subjected them to the most crucial tests 
of scholarship and modern research. 
Some of the Epistles they reject as not 
being the productions of Paul, but they 
all agree that Paul actually wrote the 
first four Epistles ascribed to him — 
the Epistle to the Romans, the First 
and Second Epistles to the Corinthians, 
and the Epistle to the Galatians. 

In one of these undisputed letters — 
The First Letter to the Corinthians, 
Paul testifies that the resurrected Jesus 
was seen first by Peter, and later on he 
appeared to the Twelve, and still later 



[ 59 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

to over five hundred brethren at once, 
of whom the greater part were living 
at the time Paul was writing, and could 
have investigated all that the Apostle 
wrote. He says that Christ appeared 
also to James, who had not believed in 
him, but who was convinced and became 
the head of the Jerusalem Church. He 
appeared again to the Twelve and, "Last 
of all," says Paul, "He appeared to me." 

Paul was a great scholar, capable of 
weighing and sifting evidence and is 
very firm in his convictions; he has no 
doubts concerning what he testifies ; he 
is absolutely certain of some things. 
The "I knows" of St. Paul make up 
quite a striking list. To know a thing 
is to be certain that it is. Paul says, 
"I know Him whom I have believed, and 
I am persuaded that He is able to guard 
that which I have committed unto Him 
against that day," II Tim. 1:12. And 



[ 60 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 
■iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiii 

again, "We know that if the earthly- 
house of our tabernacle be desolved, 
we have a building from God, a house 
not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens," II Cor. 5:1. And again, "We 
know that to them that love God all 
things work together for good," Rom. 
8:28. 

For testifying to a risen and victori- 
ous Lord, Paul surrendered his Roman 
citizenship, his university diploma, and 
his former hopes, purposes, and ambi- 
tions. 

Paul wrote this letter to the Church 
at Corinth about twenty-five years after 
the resurrection of Jesus. He had been 
a believer in Jesus for nearly twenty 
years. In the meantime, he had care- 
fully investigated the evidence, having 
conversed with Peter and John, James, 
the head of the Church; and no doubt 



[ 61 ] 



LIFE AFTER DEATH 

■iiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinMii 

also, with many of the five hundred to 
whom Christ had appeared, with Mary, 

the Mother, and with those who had 
seen Christ ascend into heaven. 

And he also retired into the wilder- 
ness of Arabia for a period of three 
years to study and to meditate upon 
these things. 

But Paul had not always believed in 
risen Lord. He was converted about 
six years after the resurrection. What 
was he doing during those six years? 
He was fiercely persecuting all who be- 
lieved in the resurrection; he became 
a ravager and devestator of the Chris- 
tian Church, entering the sacred retire- 
ments of Christian homes and dragging 
out men, women and children to judg- 
ment and to death. 

When the men were stoning the 
youthful Stephen, the first Christian 



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martyr, Paul held their coats and con- 
sented unto Stephen's death, beholding 
the dying agony and crushed remains 
of this good man whose face became 
like the face of an angel saying, "Lord 
Jesus receive my spirit." Here, it may 
be, the truth commenced to dawn upon 
Paul. Sometime later, on his way to 
the City of Damascus, with authority 
and officers to arrest the believers in 
that city, the risen Christ appeared to 
him and said, "Saul, Saul, why perse- 
cutest thou Me ? It is hard for thee to 
kick against the goads." From that 
time he became a firm believer and the 
greatest defender of the faith. 

The enemies of Jesus used every 
subterfuge to account for the empty 
sepulchre. They went to the Roman 
Governor* and requested that the sep- 
ulchre be made doubly secure ; they said 
that this deceiver while he was alive 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 

asserted that he would rise from the 
dead; they made this request lest his 
disciples would come and steal the body 
away and say that he had risen from 
the dead. 

Their request was granted ; the tomb 
was sealed with the Roman Seal and a 
detail of soldiers were sent to guard it. 
On the morning of the third day, the 
tomb was open and the body missing; 
and these enemies bribed the soldiers 
to testify that the body was stolen while 
they were sleeping. What weak purile 
testimony! Roman soldiers would not 
dare to sleep while on duty ; and if they 
did sleep what would the testimony of 
sleeping men amount to in any court 
of Justice? 

The enemies of Christ have also said 
that the Apostles testified falsely in 
order to deceive the world; but what 

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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

mm 1 1 in 1 1 ii n in i inn i nun inn mimiimimiimimiiiiiimmiiiimiiiiii 

would be their motive in so doing? 
These men firmly believed in what they 
testified, else they would not have en- 
dured great suffering, persecution, and 
death for testifying to these things. 
It has been truly said, "The tree of 
falsehood has never grown such lives 
as the after lives of the witnesses of 
the. resurrection of Jesus Christ." 

We do not have any of the original 
manuscripts of the New Testament. 
The oldest manuscript in existence dates 
back to the year 325, A. D. But from 
this date back to the days of the Apos- 
tles, there are many records left by 
Christian writers corroborating the 
teachings of the whole of the New 
Testament. If we did not have the 
New Testament, the entire book could 
be collated from the writings of these 
early Christians. 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllitlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 

The Apostle John, in his Gospel, clear- 
ly sets forth the Deity of Jesus and also 
His resurrection. John had a disciple 
by the name of Polycarp, who preached 
and wrote the things which he had re- 
ceived from John. Polycarp had a dis- 
ciple by the name of Iraeneus, who con- 
tinued preaching and writing; and we 
have the books of these men on our 
bookshelves to-day. 

We also have books written by Cle- 
ment, a co-worker with Paul, and we 
could get Paul's doctrine from his books. 
Clement died, A. D. 102, leaving fol- 
lowers connecting the days of the 
Apostles with the year 325, A. D. 

These old manuscripts were found in 
many different parts of the world. 
When they were brought together and 
compared, each was in perfect harmony 
with the others; as if the parts of a 

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LIFE AFT EE DEATH 

■iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiii] 

beautiful mosaic had been found in 
many different quarters of the world: 
one part in this country, and one part 
in that country. When these parts are 
brought together, each part fits into its 
proper place. 

The early Church Fathers tell us that 
a resolution to make Jesus one of the 
gods of Rome was once offered in the 
Roman Senate and that one of the argu- 
ments in favor of the resolution was 
that he had risen from the dead. They 
also tell us that among the state papers 
of Pilate filed in Rome there was a ref- 
erence to the resurrection of Christ and 
that these papers were referred to dur- 
ing the lives of some of them. 

In the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
tury there were two eminent lawyers, 
one named Lyttleton and the other 
West. These two men were leaders 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 



among the learned infidels of that age; 
they were Deists, that is, they believed 
in a Supreme Being, but did not believe 
in the Deity of Jesus Christ or the 
miraculous. One day they came to- 
gether to plan an assault on Christian- 
ity. They found it necessary, in order 
to make the attack effective, to disprove 
two things: first, the reputed conver- 
sion of Saul of Tarsus, and second, the 
reputed resurrection of Jesus Christ 
from the dead. Each promised to pre- 
pare an elaborate attack within a year. 
West selected the Resurrection of Christ 
and Lord Lyttleton the Conversion of 
Saul of Tarsus. They wrote their books 
and came together at the end of the 
year to compare notes. Lyttleton said, 
"My book is finished; but as I have 
studied the evidence from a legal stand- 
point, I have become convinced that Saul 
of Tarsus met with an extraordinary 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

.niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

change on his way to Damascus, just 
as is described in the Acts of the Apos- 
tles, and I have become a Christian." 
West said, "I am bound to admit that 
my resources have brought me to a 
similar conclusion. After a comprehen- 
sive survey of the evidence in the case, 
I am satisfied that Jesus of Nazareth 
was raised from the dead just as the 
Gospels record, and I have written my 
book in defense of Christianity." And 
these two books are in our libraries to- 
day. No man with a legal mind and 
accustomed to sift evidence can arrive 
at any other conclusion than that Jesus 
rose from the dead. 

Blackstone, the acknowledged author- 
ity as to rules of evidence, says, "No 
event in history is more amply sub- 
stantiated by competent testimony than 
the resurrection of Christ. ,, 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

I111I1I1113I1I1I11I111I1I1IIII11III11II1II1IIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBIIIIIII 

Dr. Arnold, a man far famed for his 
mental research, writes: "I have been 
used for many years to study the his- 
tory of other times, and to weigh the 
evidences of those who have written 
about them, and I know of no one fact 
which is proved by better and fuller 
evidence of every sort to the mind of a 
fair inquirer than the great sign which 
God has given us that Christ rose from 
the dead." 

We have also a very substantial liv- 
ing witness of the resurrection. It is 
the Christian Sabbath. How does it 
occur that this day has been for cen- 
turies on the first day of the week? 
For centuries it had been on the seventh 
day of the week. We find the 
Apostles meeting together for the 
breaking of bread on the first day of 
the week ; surely there was some mighty 
event to cause such a revolution. Many 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

nHnauiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

of these men had been Jews trained to 
observe scrupulously the Seventh Day. 

And whence the one Sabbath in all 
the year that sparkles and scintillates 
like a diamond among all the other 
Sabbaths? For nearly two thousand 
years, Christians have been observing 
Easter. There are over four hundred 
millions of Christians in the world who 
observe Easter; and, at stated times, 
they gather around a frugal repast and 
eat a bit of broken bread and sip a bit 
of wine and say, "Thus His body was 
broken, and thus, His blood was poured 
out." 

The Christian Church is a witnessing 
memorial of the resurrection. She has 
gone into all the world and preached 
the Gospel of the resurrection and has 
given billions of dollars to propagate 
the belief. 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiimiiiiiHHBiHii 

Thousands of Christians have laid 
down their lives in the Roman Arena, 
at the burning stake, by having their 
bodies torn asunder, in unhealthful 
climates, and in many other ways for 
testifying to a risen Lord. 

Observe what mighty works the 
Christian Church has performed: she 
has changed barbarism to civilization; 
done away with the cruel human sacri- 
fices offered to heathen gods, liberated 
the slaves, built hospitals and asylums, 
and elevated woman to be the equal of 
man. Wherever the Gospel goes the 
highest form of civilization is sure to 
follow. 

Among individuals, the Gospel has 
proved itself to be of Divine power. It 
has transformed the criminal, the 
drunkard, the fiend, and the vagabond 
into upright and useful men. 

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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

laiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

If a man choose to disregard the evi- 
dence of intelligent design in the visible 
universe and the intuitions of his own 
nature, to deny the existence of God 
and the many proofs of the credibility 
of the Gospel narratives, and declare 
that the story of Jesus Christ and his 
resurrection is a myth, what comfort 
has he to offer to the sorrowing hearts 
of those who mourn? But the Gospel 
narratives are peculiarly adapted to 
meet such needs of the heart. Suppose 
two persons have loved each other and 
walked together in the Christian faith ; 
one of them is taken away, and someone 
says to the survivor, "Let not your 
heart be troubled; ye believe in God, 
believe also in me. In my Father's 
house are many mansions; if it were 
not so I would not have told you. I go 
to prepare a place for you. We know 
that if our earthly house of this taber- 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiii 

nacle were dissolved, we have a build- 
ing of God, an house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens." What 
effect will this have on the bereaved 
one? It will soothe and comfort the 
sorrow and create a sweet hope of an 
eternal reunion. In times of sad 
bereavement it is absolutely true that 
such passages of Scripture have taken 
the bitterness from the sorrow of mul- 
titudes. But, though it does not prove 
the credibility of the Gospel narratives, 
its adaptation to meet the needs of sor- 
rowing hearts is an evidence of its 
credibility. There is ncthng else that 
will meet such needs. 

The Pastor of a Baptist Church in a 
Western city relates this incident: The 
Mayor of the city with his wife attend- 
ed the Pastor's church. The wife of the 
Mayor was a member and a consistent 
Christian; but the Mayor would not 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

unite with the church because he was 
skeptical on some of the salient prin- 
ciples of the Christian religion, among 
which was the Deity of Christ. The 
Pastor urged the Mayor to unite with 
the church and preached a sermon on 
the Deity of Christ and had many per- 
sonal conversations with the Mayor. 
At length, the Mayor, who had read 
much, said, "I have always been an 
ardent admirer of William E. Gladstone 
and consider his intellect the keenest 
in the world ; will you write to him ask- 
ing what he thinks of the person of 
Christ?" The Pastor was doubtful if 
he could get into communication with 
the great English statesman, but wrote 
a letter stating: "I know you are de- 
luged with more letters than you can 
answer, but upon your answering this 
letter, may depend, the destiny of an 
immortal soul. What do you think of 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

miiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiui ■iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 

the person of Christ?" In due time 
the Pastor received this reply: "All I 
am, all I have been, and all I ever hope 
to be, L owe to Jesus Christ the Saviour 
of my poor wandering soul." This 
convinced the Mayor and he united with 
the church. The words of this reply 
are now inscribed on the tomb of the 
great statesman and man of letters. 

Who is this Jesus of Nazareth? No 
other man has ever exerted the influ- 
ence that this man has exerted. Men 
though they may not believe in Him 
acknowledge His birth every time they 
write a letter; they observe His birth- 
day and in some way observe the day 
that had its origin at an empty sepul- 
chre. Surely, this was no ordinary 
man. Surely, He was the Son of God. 
He said, "I have the keys of death and 
Hades." And it should be the chief 



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LIFE AFTER DEATH 

llllllllllllllllllllll III lllll 1 1 1111 II IIIISIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBII 11111111111111111 

element of our joy that when He rose 
from the dead He not only won escape 
for Himself, but escape and deliverance 
for us also. 

There is life after death, 

"As for thy friends, they are not lost; 
The several vessels of thy fleet, 
Though sundered far, by tempest tossed, 
Shall safely in the harbor meet." 




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